(Part 1) Growing Trees of Righteousness: Thinking God’s Thoughts After Him

I was recently watching the Kenneth Copeland daily broadcast and he had an amazingly interesting guest named Dr. Caroline Leaf.  Dr. Leaf has been studying neuroscience for years, but prior to this, she was a strong Christian firmly rooted in the Word of God.  I was amazing as I listened to Dr. Leaf and brother Copeland as they were tying Scripture to science and giving a true revelation of just how literal the Bible actually is.  For example, if you are thinking on bad things and focusing on them, you actually form a thought in your brain that physically looks like a barren tree.  If you dwell on this thought, it will generate bad proteins and chemistry in your brain effecting cells around this thought, and if you dwell long enough on it, you can actually impact every cell in your body and this can lead to sickness and disease.  You have to purposefully decide what you are going to dwell upon, and if you dwell upon wickedness and evil, then it can literally consume you spiritually and physically, because it has been found you were not just spiritually designed to walk in love and forgiveness, but you were physically designed to walk in love and forgiveness also.

In Luke chapter 4 beginning in verse 16 we see the LORD Jesus in a synagogue and they gave Him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah to read.  Jesus turned to Isaiah chapter 61 and began reading in verse 1.  Let’s read from Isaiah chapter 61 and verse 1 what the LORD read to the people.  The Bible says…

Isaiah              61:1    The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the

                                  LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto

                                  the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the

                                  brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and

                                  the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

                        61:2   To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, …

Here is where Jesus stopped the reading, but let’s continue on.  The Bible says…

Isaiah              61:2   To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the

                                  day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that

                                  mourn;

                        61:3   To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto

                                  them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the

                                  garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they

                                  might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of

                                  the LORD, that He might be glorified.

Ashes-665-rp,ae <eÆpher, ay’-fer; from an unused root mean. to bestrew; ashes:— ashes.

Bestrew-dict.(bef. 12c.)-strew, to lie scattered over.

Strew-dict.(bef. 12c) –to spread by scattering.

Mourning-60-lb,ae <eÆbel, ay’-bel; from 56; lamentation:— mourning.

Heaviness-3544-hh,Ke-keÆheh, kay-heh’; from 3543; feeble, obscure:— somewhat dark, darkish, wax dim, heaviness, smoking.

Beauty-6287-raeP] pƒ<eÆr, peh-ayr’; from 6286; an embellishment, i.e. fancy head-dress:— beauty, bonnet, goodly, ornament, tire.

Oil-8081-÷m,v, shemen, sheh’-men; from 8080; grease, espec. liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed); fig. richness:— anointing, × fat (things), × fruitful, oil ([-ed]), ointment, olive, + pine.

Vines-shemen (8081), "(olive) oil; olive; perfume; olivewood.” Cognates of this word appear in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Phoenician, Syriac, Arabic, and Aramaic. This word appears about 190 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. 

Shemen means olive “oil”: “And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it” (Gen. 28:18). Olive “oil” was also used to anoint a future office bearer (Exod. 25:6; 2 Kings 9:6); one’s head as a sign of mourning (2 Sam. 14:2); one’s head as a sign of rejoicing (Ps. 23:5); and one’s ear lobe, thumb, and toe as a ritual cleansing (Lev. 14:17). Shemen is used as a preservative on shield-leather (2 Sam. 1:21) and in baking (Exod. 29:2) and as a medication (Ezek. 16:9). This “oil” is burned for light (Exod. 25:6). Its many uses made olive oil a valuable trade item (Ezek. 27:17). 

In many contexts shemen perhaps means the “olive” itself: “… But ye, gather ye wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels …” (Jer. 40:10). 

Once the word appears to mean lavish dishes, or dishes mixed with much oil: “And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things [nasb, “lavish banquet”]” (Isa. 25:6). 

Shemen is “a kind of perfume,” or olive oil mixed with certain odors to make a perfume, in passages such as Song of Sol. 1:3: “Because of the savor of thy good ointments [nasb, “oils”] thy name is as ointment poured forth.…” 

Shemen sometimes modifies “wood”: “In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high” (1 Kings 6:23, rsv). 

A related noun mishman appears 4 times. It means “stout or vigorous ones” (Isa. 10:16) and “fertile spots” (Dan. 11:24). 

Joy-8342-÷/cc; saÆsoÆwn, saw-sone’; or ÷cc; saÆsoÆn, saw-sone’; from 7797; cheerfulness; spec. welcome:— gladness, joy, mirth, rejoicing.

Let’s stop here for moment.  Here the LORD God says He gives us beauty for ashes, He gives us the oil of joy for mourning, He gives us the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.  So here we see three bad things that can attack our soul and spirit, and they are ashes, mourning, and heaviness. 

I am convinced that these three things are a blatant attack out of the pit of hell for Jesus says…

John                10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to

                                  destroy:

So it is the devil who would be the ultimate cause ashes, mourning, and a spirit of heaviness.  Ashes are obviously the destruction of something that was.  It could be a business, a home, physical health, or relationships.  Mourning would be for the thing destroyed or for the loss.  It could be grief, or sorrow.  The third thing that attacks our soul and spirit is heaviness.  I do not know if you have ever experienced this, but stress and mourning can lead to a feeling of just heaviness in your body, soul, and spirit, where you are struggling just to go on with life.  If you look at these three things …they are a progression, …and they come because of what you have willed yourself to set your mind and your heart upon.  First you have the destruction, then you choose to dwell on the problem, then mourning begins, and then you end up with such heaviness in your spirit that you struggle to go on, …but this is not where the LORD wants you to be, …for you see, …the LORD also gives you three things.  The LORD gives you beauty …in exchange …for the ashes, …the LORD gives you the oil of joy… in exchange …for the mourning, …and the LORD gives you the garment of praise …in exchange …for the spirit of heaviness.  Here again we see a progression and that is beauty, joy, and praise.  When the LORD exchanges beauty for ashes, He is trying to let you know that as long as you are still here …and still alive, …it is not over.  You …can have …a new day, and God is a miracle-working God, and He is the only One that I know that can unscramble eggs and put them back in the shell, …and let’s say the worst happens, from and earthly perspective, …and you die.  Well, if you are a Christian, then you still win, for the LORD has made a place for you, and you will be carried into His presence, and so shall we be with the LORD forever.  Praise God!  That is why the Apostle Paul writes…

Philippians     1: 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

So God gives you beauty for ashes.  When you receive that beauty, the oil of joy will begin to flow.  A wonderful smelling, perfumed oil will just stick all over you.  God is saying that He wanting to stick His joy …all over you, …so that you are just anointed with joy, cheerfulness and gladness.  Then God says that He wants you to cast off the spirit of heaviness and put on the garment of praise.  This is a willful choice.  You have to make a willful choice …to put on a garment of praise.  It does not matter what the situation is.  Choose to lift your hands and praise the LORD …either for the situation, or choose to lift your hands and praise the LORD …for getting you through the situation.  Either way, make the choice to praise the LORD.  You have wear praise …like a garment …and don’t take it off, …even when you come inside.  Raise your hands and praise the LORD …on purpose. 

What are you doing when you do these things?  You are making the willful choice to exchange ashes, mourning and heaviness in your thoughts and spirit for beauty, joy, and praise.  Let’s go back now and read why God provided this exchange for us.  Let’s read Isaiah 61 and verse 3 again.  The Bible says…

Isaiah               61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto

                                  them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the

                                  garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they 

                                  might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of 

                                  the LORD, that He might be glorified.

Here we see that God wants us called “trees of righteousness”.  Praise God!  Isn’t it amazing to think about the fact that a thought in our mind looks like a tree?  God is saying that He wants these hurtful, harmful things removed from our minds and He wants them replaced with thoughts that He plants, …thoughts of righteousness, …thoughts of right-thing-doing, …so that we will be the planting of the LORD, with His thoughts planted in out minds, so that our lives …might bring Him glory.  Praise God!  God wants us …to think His thoughts …after Him, …by allowing Him …to plant His thoughts …into our minds.  The Bible says…

I Corinthians  2:16   For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may

                                  instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. 

Here the Scriptures teach us that you will never be able to instruct God in something, because He knows so much more than you, or I, or the entire human collective mind …will ever begin to know, but …it is also true …that you can have …the mind of Christ.  What does that mean?  It means, you can think God’s thoughts after Him.  How do you do that?  The way you have the mind of Christ is that you read and study the Word of God, for God’s Word is God’s will, and God’s will is His thoughts that He has given us …to think after Him …to grow tree of righteousness, …or trees of right-thinking.  Listen to what the Bible says…

Jeremiah         29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith

                                  the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give

                                  you an expected end. 

Thoughts- 4284.-hb;v;j}m' machaáshaÆbaÆh, makh-ash-aw-baw’; or tb,v,j}m' machaáshebeth, makh-ash-eh’-beth; from 2803; a contrivance, i.e. (concr.) a texture, machine, or (abstr.) intention, plan (whether bad, a plot; or good, advice):— cunning (work), curious work, device (-sed), imagination, invented, means, purpose, thought.

Think- 2803-bv'j; chaÆshab, khaw-shab’; a prim. root; prop. to plait or interpenetrate, i.e. (lit.) to weave or (gen.) to fabricate; fig. to plot or contrive (usually in a malicious sense); hence, (from the ment. effort) to think, regard, value, compute:— (make) account (of), conceive, consider, count, cunning (man, work, workman), devise, esteem, find out, forecast, hold, imagine, impute, invent, be like, mean, purpose, reckon (-ing be made), regard, think.

Vines- chashab (2803), “to think, account, reckon, devise, plan.” This word is found throughout the historical development of Hebrew and Aramaic. Found at least 120 times in the Hebrew Bible, chashab occurs in the text for the first time in Gen. 15:6, where it was said of Abraham: “He believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness” (rsv). Here the term has the meaning of “to be imputed.” 

Frequently used in the ordinary sense of “thinking,” or the normal thought processes (Isa. 10:7; 53:4; Mal. 3:16), chashab also is used in the sense of “devising evil plans” (Gen. 50:20; Jer. 48:2). The word refers to craftsmen “inventing” instruments of music, artistic objects, and weapons of war (Exod. 31:4; 2 Chron. 26:15; Amos 6:5).

Peace- 7965-µ/lv; shaÆloÆwm, shaw-lome’; or µl¿v; shaÆloÆm, shaw-lome’; from 7999; safe, i.e. (fig.) well, happy, friendly; also (abstr.) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace:— × do, familiar, × fare, favour, + friend, × great, (good) health, (× perfect, such as be at) peace (-able, -ably), prosper (-ity, -ous), rest, safe (-ty), salute, welfare, (× all is, be) well, × wholly.

Vines- shalom (7965), “peace; completeness; welfare; health.” The root is a common Semitic root with the meaning “peace” in Akkadian, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic. 

Shalom is a very important term in the Old Testament and has maintained its place in Mishnaic, rabbinic, and modern Hebrew. In Israel today, people greet the newcomer and each other with the words mah shlomka, (“what is your peace,” “how are you doing,”) and they ask about the “peace” (“well-being”) of one’s family.  The use of shalom is frequent (237 times) and varied in its semantic range. The first two occurrences in Genesis already indicate the changes in meaning: “And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace [shalom in the sense of “in tranquility,” “at ease,” “unconcerned”]; thou shalt be buried in a good old age” (Gen. 15:15); and “that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace [shalom with the meaning of “unharmed” and “unhurt”] …” (Gen. 26:29). Yet, both uses are essentially the same, as they express the root meaning of “to be whole.” The phrase |ish shelomi(“friend of my peace”) in Ps. 41:9, “Yea, mine own familiar friend [literally, “friend of my peace”], in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me” (cf. Jer. 20:10), signifies a state in which one can feel at ease, comfortable with someone. The relationship is one of harmony and wholeness, which is the opposite of the state of strife and war: “I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war” (Ps. 120:7). Shalom as a harmonious state of the soul and mind encourages the development of the faculties and powers. The state of being at ease is experienced both externally and internally. In Hebrew it finds expression in the phrase beshalom (“in peace”): “I will both lay me down in peace [beshalom], and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety” (Ps. 4:8). 

Closely associated to the above is the meaning “welfare,” specifically personal “welfare” or “health.” This meaning is found in questions: “And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him” (2 Sam. 20:9), or in the prepositional phrase leshalom with the verb “to ask”: “And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?” (Gen. 43:27). 

Shalom also signifies “peace,” indicative of a prosperous relationship between two or more parties. Shalom in this sense finds expression in speech: “Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably [literally, “in peace”] to his neighbor with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait” (Jer. 9:8); in diplomacy: “Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite” (Judg. 4:17); and in warfare: “… If it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee” (Deut. 20:11). 

Isaiah prophesied concerning the “prince of peace” (Isa. 9:6), whose kingdom was to introduce a government of “peace” (Isa. 9:7). Ezekiel spoke about the new covenant as one of “peace”: “Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore” (Ezek. 37:26). Psalm 122 is one of those great psalms in celebration of and in prayer for the “peace of Jerusalem”: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Ps. 122:6). In benedictions God’s peace was granted to His people: “… Peace shall be upon Israel” (Ps. 125:5). 

The Septuagint gives the following translations: eirene (“peace; welfare; health”); eirenikos (“peaceable; peaceful”); soteria (“deliverance; preservation; salvation”); and hugiainein (“be in good health; sound”). 

Another related noun is shelem, which occurs 87 times, and means “peace offering”: “And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord” (Exod. 24:5). 

Expected-8615-hw:q]Ti tiqvaÆh, tik-vaw’; from 6960; lit. a cord (as an attachment [comp. 6961]); fig. expectancy:— expectation ([-ted]), hope, live, thing that I long for.

Here …God says… that He has thoughts He thinks toward us.  That means that God has plans for our lives.  We can learn God’s thoughts through His Word, and in His Word and by His Spirit, He will reveal His plan for our lives …to bring us to an expected end.  How can the end be expected?  How can we know how things will end?  Well, it is revealed to us through God’s Word.  Therefore, if you see it in God’s Word, then you can set you expectancy that God’s Word will come to pass, …because God said it.  In fact the word translated “expected” has also been translated as “hope”.  Put you marker here in Jeremiah 29:11 and turn with me to Romans chapter 15 and verse 4.  Listen to what the Bible says…

Romans  15:4   For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written

                          for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of

                          the scriptures might have hope.

This says that God has given us His thoughts …written down in His Word …to reveal His will …so that that we can have …expectancy …and hope …about how things …are going to turn out, …and that they are going to turn out …good.  Put a marker here in Romans and turn back to Jeremiah 29:11 and read that verse again.  God says…

Jeremiah         29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith

                                  the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give

                                  you an expected end. 

Here we clearly see that God’s thoughts toward us are thought of peace and not of evil.  The word “peace” here is a wonderful word for it is translated from the Hebrew word “shalom”, which means, “peace, health, prosperity and general well-being, with nothing missing and nothing broken”.  “Shalom” is all encompassing with goodness intended for every area of your life.  Praise God!  These are the thoughts that God has for us, and these are the thoughts that God wants us to think after Him, and to set our hope and expectancy upon.  Listen to what the Bible says in Romans 15 and verse 13.  The Bible says…

Romans          15:13  Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in

                                  believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the

                                  power of the Holy Ghost.

Abound- 4052.-perisseuvw peárisseáuoµ, per-is-syoo´-o; from 4053; to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous; also (tran.) to cause to superabound or excel:— (make, more) abound, (have, have more) abundance (be more) abundant, be the better, enough and to spare, exceed, excel, increase, be left, redound, remain (over and above).

Vines- 1. perisseuo (4052), akin to A, Nos. 2 and 3, is used intransitively (a) “of exceeding a certain number, or measure, to be over, to remain,” of the fragments after feeding the multitude (cf. perisseuma), Luke 9:17; John 6:12-13; “to exist in abundance”; as of wealth, Luke 12:15; 21:4; of food, 15:17. In this sense it is used also of consolation, 2 Cor. 1:5, of the effect of a gift sent to meet the need of saints, 2 Cor. 9:12; of rejoicing, Phil. 1:26; of what comes or falls to the lot of a person in large measure, as of the grace of God and the gift by the grace of Christ, Rom. 5:15, of the sufferings of Christ, 2 Cor. 1:5. In Mark 12:44 and Luke 21:4, the rv has “superfluity.” 

(b) “to redound to, or to turn out abundantly for something,” as of the liberal effects of poverty, 2 Cor. 8:2; in Rom. 3:7, argumentatively of the effects of the truth of God, as to whether God’s truthfulness becomes more conspicuous and His glory is increased through man’s untruthfulness; of numerical increase, Acts 16:5. 

(c) “to be abundantly furnished, to abound in a thing,” as of material benefits, Luke 12:15; Phil. 4:18 of spiritual gifts; 1 Cor. 14:12, or “to be pre-eminent, to excel, to be morally better off,” as regards partaking of certain meats; 1 Cor. 8:8, “are we the better”, “to abound” in hope, Rom. 15:13; the work of the Lord, 1 Cor. 15:58; faith and grace, 2 Cor. 8:7; thanksgiving, Col. 2:7; walking so as to please God, Phil. 1:9; 1 Thess. 4:1, 10; of righteousness, Matt. 5:20; of the Gospel, as the ministration of righteousness 2 Cor. 3:9, “exceed.” 

It is used transitively, in the sense of “to make to abound,” e.g., to provide a person richly so that he has “abundance,” as of spiritual truth, Matt. 13:12; the right use of what God has entrusted to us, 25:29; the power of God in conferring grace, 2 Cor. 9:8; Eph. 1:8; to “make abundant” or to cause to excel, as of the effect of grace in regard to thanksgiving, 2 Cor. 4:15; His power to make us “to abound” in love, 1 Thess. 3:12. See better, enough, exceed, excel, increase, redound, remain.

Power- 1411-duvnami" dunamis, doo´-nam-is; from 1410; force (lit. or fig.); spec. miraculous power (usually by impl. a miracle itself):— ability, abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle (-s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.

Vines- 1. dunamis (1411) is (a) “power, ability,” physical or moral, as residing in a person or thing; (b) “power in action,” as, e.g., when put forth in performing miracles. It occurs 118 times in the NT. It is sometimes used of the miracle or sign itself, the effect being put for the cause, e.g., Mark 6:5, frequently in the Gospels and Acts. In 1 Cor. 14:11 it is rendered “meaning”; “force” would be more accurate. Cf., the corresponding verbs, B, 1, 2, 3 and the adjective C. 1, below. See abundance, deed, might, power, strength, violence, virtue, work. 

Here we see in the Scriptures that God’s will is that you abound in hope, or that you abound in the things that you are expecting to come to pass.  What does it mean to “abound”?  The word “abound” means to succeed and excel …exceedingly abundantly above all that you can even ask or think.  Praise God!  How can you succeed and excel even more than you can think?  Does that mean we just work harder and harder? 

Well, the Bible says that you abound… in hope, …through the power of the Holy Ghost.  Throughout the Scriptures when the Holy Ghost comes on the scene, that is when you get to see the miracle-working, life-changing, body-healing, relationship restoring …power of God move in and do the works of God.  So God wants you to think His thoughts after Him to fill you with hope and joy and peace, keeping your faith active, so that you can excel and succeed above all that you can ask or think through the miracle-working power of the Holy Ghost.  Praise God!  Hold your place here in Romans and turn with me to II Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 3.  Listen to what the Bible says…

II Corinthians 10:3   For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after

                                  the flesh:

                        10:4   (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but

                                  mighty through God to the pulling down of strong

                                  holds;) 

Let’s stop here a moment.  Here again we see that the hope we stand in is not due to our own ability.  We are not warring after the flesh, but we are warring in the spirit, and the weapons that God has made available to us are mighty because our weapons are through the miracle-working power of the Holy Ghost, which is the power of God.  Praise God!  Oh, hold your place here a moment.  Listen to what is written in Ephesians 6:10.  The Bible says…

Ephesians       6:10   Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the

                                  power of His might.

Herre again we see that it is not my power that going to change things, but things can be changed through the power of God’s might.  Hallelujah!

Now flip back to II Corinthians chapter 10 and let’s pick up our reading in verse 5.  The Bible says…

II Corinthians 10:5   Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that

                                  exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and

                                  bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience

                                  of Christ; 

Here again we see that we are to think God’s thoughts after Him and cast down every thought that go against the knowledge of God, which means these imaginations that you are casting down go against the Word and will of God.

I remember once going through a difficult situation concerning one of my children.  She was facing an open-heart surgery.  I had been listening to brother Copeland for a while at this time in my life, and brother and sister Copeland actually had consented to meet with my family and pray for my baby daughter.  Well, I was trying to sleep as we neared the time for this surgery and the devil was pushing the image of a tombstone into my mind that had my daughter’s name on it.  All of a sudden I heard clear as day brother Copeland’s voice …and he said, “No, no, no, no, no, she shall not die, but live and declare the works of the LORD”.  I heard his voice just as clear as if he was standing beside me.  And the image vanished and I slept well that night.  I have stood on that Word of God for 24 years now and I am not going to let up now.  My young adult daughter shall not die, but live and declare the works of the LORD and she has lived and served the LORD for 24 years …and will continue so.  Praise God!

Turn back with me now to Romans chapter 15 and verse 13.  Again the Bible says…

Romans          15:13  Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in

                                  believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the

                                  power of the Holy Ghost.

Now just how is the God of hope going to fill you with joy and peace?  Well, praise God, it is going to happen as you choose to exchange ashes for the beauty that God has give you, it is going to happen as you exchange mourning for the oil of joy that god has give you, it is going to happen as you choose to cast off the spirit of heaviness and put on the garment of praise.  Praise God!  And how do you do these things?  You start thinking god’s thoughts after Him.  Praise God!  You start thinking God’s thought after Him through reading, studying, and most of all trusting His Word.  That is how the God of hope fills you with hope and peace, but then the Bible adds another step for the Bible says that God will fill you with hope and peace …in believing.  The word “believe” is a verb.  That means it is an action word.

From the Greek you find that it is the verb form of the word we find translated as “faith”.  So “believing” is putting your faith into action.  “Believing” is faith with legs on it.  “Believing” means that you chose to exchange ashes, mourning, and the spirit of heaviness, for God’s beauty, for God’s oil of joy, and for God’s garment of praise, and lift your hands to the LORD and say, “Is praise You Jesus for this situation”, or you say, “I praise You Jesus for getting me through this situation”.  Praise God!  Either way, you praise the LORD!

I start and wrote the bulk of this message as we were standing in faith for our daughter again.  In august of 2018 we were given a bad report.  I really didn’t know what to think, since she seemed to be doing well.  I mean, yes, there were some concerns, but overall, she seemed to be doing well.  Well, doctor’s were all upset, and we were getting scheduled to go to the Mayo Clinic and exedra and exedra.  Well, things just were not working out for all this mess to happen.  So after Christmas, I waited a few more months and then called people at UAB in Birmingham who had helped us in the past.  I have found this to be a strongly Christian environment, and one for which I was greatly appreciative.  I decided before we left, that I received God’s beauty for ashes, I received God’s oil of joy in my spirit and all over me, and I chose to put on the garment of praise rebuking the spirit of heaviness.  I would just choose to raise my hands and say, “I praise You Jesus”, “I praise You Holy name”.  Well, we drove for a day and arrived in Birmingham, Al on a Saturday afternoon.  We noticed that there was a baseball game just ending as we came into town, and my daughter just loves baseball.  She was a hind catcher for the National Little League’s Challengers team for about 5 years and her image batting was actually on their website for years.  Any way, we went on to the hotel and were waiting to get on the elevator and my daughter noticed someone dressed in baseball clothing.  Well, it ended up that this man was the third base umpire for the game we had just seen driving into town.  He told my daughter that he would give her a game ball if we came to the game the next day.  Well, after church the next day I asked my daughter what she would like to do, and she said she wanted to go to the baseball game. I was hoping that I might be able to obtain a couple of player’s signatures on the baseball that the umpire said he would give us.  So we quickly got things together and I checked on line and it said they took both cash and credit card, so we went to the game that was only a couple of blocks away.  We were blessed with being able to park about 50 feet from the gate and proceeded to go inside to purchase tickets.  I was taking out my credit card to pay and the lady said, “This is cash only”.  I expressed that on-line the website had said cash or credit, but that was to no avail, so we started to leave and the lady said, “Here”, and proceeded to hand us three tickets. 

I said, “Praise God!” and thanked her.  Well, I had intended to purchase my daughter a ball cap.  I went over to the table, hoping that they would take a credit card, but it was cash only.  I went to the concession stand, and they did take credit cards, but I could not joke or sweat-talk them into giving me cash above my purchase.  So we went into the stands to sit down.  We were blessed with seats right behind home plate and in fact we were sitting one row behind two of the pitchers who throughout the game were measuring the speed of the pitches, which added to the excitement. Well, before you knew it, a young lady who was working at the stadium walked down to us and gave my daughter yellow-colored UAB Blazers baseball cap.  The team was presenting using green caps and the yellow ones were from a previous year, but yellow is my daughter’s favorite color and it had a big “B” on the front.  The “B” was for “Blazers”, but when wearing our Boston Red socks caps, we say it means, “Bloodwashed, Bible-believing, Blakleys”.  So my daughter was just blessed, but then the young lady pulled out a baseball signed by all of the players with their numbers on it.  Praise God!  We were blessed exceedingly above all that we could ask or think, and it hit me so strong in my spirit, “If God could be involved to such a level of detail in something so trivial as a as tickets to a baseball game, a baseball cap, and a baseball signed by all the team members, how much more would God be involved in the details of the upcoming fourth open-heart surgery that we were facing.  So we sat and thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful baseball game that went ten innings.  My daughter for over a month had been standing upon verses 1 and 2 of Hebrews chapter 11, which read…

Hebrews         11:1   Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the

                                  evidence of things not seen. 

                        11:2   For by it the elders obtained a good report.

My daughter would continually say, “I shall obtain a good report”.  Well, the next day we went to the hospital for the first series of tests.  The first test gave us a good report not finding any of the problems that we were reported eight months ago. 

At that point the second day of a more intrusive test and the heart surgery were taken off the table, but then we went to another doctor who performed a stress test and this result did not meet what he wanted to see, but he had failed to tell us that there was a goal, even after we had asked. 

So his result put everything back on the table.  Well, I was upset, but had to deal with myself, and forgiveness and getting myself by in faith trusting God.  So the next day we went through the more intrusive surgical testing and found that my daughter was in the same position she was twelve years ago, meaning that she was stable.  So the open-heart surgery was taken back off the table.  Praise God!  My daughter received her good report, just like she had been believing to receive.  As my daughter was recovering from the anesthesia my wife and I celebrated the victory with about 4 to 5 hours of a silly vaudeville routine that just kept my daughter laughing. 

God had given us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, but we had to choose to receive the beauty, to receive the oil of joy, and to put on the garment of praise, and we had to choose to think God’s thought after Him, trusting His Word, and believing Him to manifest His good report.  We had to root out all the wrong thoughts, all the anger, all the bitterness, and allow the LORD to plant His thoughts in our minds and spirits, so we could be trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD.  In fact while we were in our hotel we were able to provide shade for others in distress, ministering to them concerning their loved ones who were in the hospital and we gave out God’s Promise books containing the Word and will of God to numerous people so that they could also learn to think God’s thoughts after Him.

Listen to what God says to us.  The Bible says…

Jeremiah         33:2   Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that

                                  formed it, to establish it; the LORD is His name; 

                        33:3   Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee

                                  great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. 

Well, we called out to the LORD and the LORD did exactly what He said that He would do in His Word.  Praise God!

Perhaps you are in need and need the help of you Creator.  Perhaps you have decided that today is the day to start your relationship with the LORD God Almighty by receiving Jesus as your Savior and LORD.  Pray with me and just say…

God ...I know that I have sinned ...but I repent …and turn from that sin right now ...and I set my goal …not to walk in sin any more ...I receive Your cleansing …of everything that I have ever done wrong ...in the blood of Jesus ...Jesus, that means You are my Savior ...and I believe that God raised You from the dead ...so I ask You, Jesus ...to come into my heart ...to be the Lord of my life ...Lord Jesus, I ask You to baptize me in the Holy Ghost ...Father God, You are now my Daddy …You are now my heavenly Father ...and praise God …I am now Your child …I am now in the family of God ...LORD Jesus …this day …I choose to begin seeking Your Word …to allow You …to plant trees of righteousness …in my thinking  …and in my spirit …I want to be …a planting of the LORD …that You might be glorified… My life …beginning this day …will show a difference for You Lord …I choose this day …to make You …and Your word …the source …of the answer … for every need in my life …thank You Lord Jesus ...for my victory this day ...and for all of Your blessings ...that are headed my way …I receive them now by faith ...so be it ...Amen.

Praise God!  You have just begun the greatest adventure of your life, for in following and serving God, you will get to see God perform miracles in your life and in the lives of those around you.  Expect good things to happen for God is good and wants good things in your life.  Read God’s word and speak His word in your life for this will release the power of God to begin working on your behalf …to take you from where you are …into God’s best blessings.  Praise God!  Remember, God loves you, Jesus is Lord, and Jesus is coming soon.